Gender Roles and

Rituals/Customs

By: DK Lee

Gender Roles

• Set of perceived behavioral norms (something that is typical) associated with males or females in social group or system

• Attitudes and behaviors, class stereotypical identity

• Almost all societies, gender/sex system

THE WORLDA husband should work outside, while a wife should be a full-time homemaker,

In Things Fall Apart

Men =dominant figures

Women=second-class citizens

Within society, women are disregarded and voiceless

No participating in meetings/discuss common causes

Farming, women plant maize, beans, and melons; Men plant yam mounds

“Yam for manliness” (Part I)

Jobs of Males

Males Are More “Powerful” More man marries, more successful considered

Nwakibie, nine wives, thirty children, highest title one can hold

Boys mean happiness and joy

Father happy for son keep family life protected, help them be weakness-free

Okonkwo tells boys stories about violence, tribal wars, and blood sheds (beginning Part I), for future roles as protectors, and the masters of their family.

Jobs of Females

The job of women in the community is to serve their husband in every way possible.

Cook Other chores to comfort Assist in repairing the huts.

Their main job was to have children

Young women helped mothers on their chores

They needed to be good storytellers to tell the young children the origin of their life.

Women are “Weak”

When girl is born, mixed feeling

Mothers are child bearers

Raised to be soft, weak, tender

Mother tell stories how to behave themselves to attract important husbands, serve husbands to win hearts

Men responsible for securing food/shelter for women, women’s life, get married, have children, provide material for husband.

Continued…..

Women are not allowed to argue just work in kitchen, children, educate children, and help men

Storytelling, educate the children, inspiring about social standards, relationships.

Religion only effective “excuse” in Igbo society

Only women respected in Umuofia tribe is Chielo, priestess, and Agbala Stands for divinity Only women who can shout at men

Summary of Gender Roles in Things Fall

Apart Gender Roles is regarded very highly in the village

of Umuofia and Mbanta. Men are thought to be the ones to have all the power in the family, and no other family member is allowed to argue against them. Men are the ones to grow yam, the main crop, and to also do all the phyiscal labor such as building huts outside of home. They have the main purpose of providing the food and the shelter for the family, but other than that, they may choose who is supposed to do what. Women on the other hand, are supposed to take care of children, tell stories to children about life, and also to help the father in every way possible.

Rituals/ Customs

Custom: A traditional and widely accepted way of behaving or doing something that is specific to a particular society, place, or time

Ritual: A religious ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to prescribed order.

Customs In Korea Today

Jimjilbang

Envelope Culture (Marriage, Funerals, Births).

Private Tutoring (Hakwon)

Baby’s First Birthday

Sharing Liquor Glass In Rounds

In Things Fall Apart (Customs)

Polygamy is the custom of having more than one wife

Ex. Okonkwo with 3 wives

Polytheism is the belief in or worship of more than one god.

Ex. God Ani (Earth), Ifejioku (Yam)

Patriarchy or the system of society where the father or the eldest man is the “boss” of the family, and which the power is passed on through the male line

Continued…

Tribal Customs.

Tribe chooses man’s worth or quality by the number of titles, and wives he has, and also by the number of yams that he grows.

Traditions/ Rituals

Week of Peace

Feast of New Yam

Wedding Ritual (Isa-ifi)

Sacrifice for Gods

Courts

Week of Peace

Week of Peace: One week of peace between both sexes and classes of people in the community in order to gain respect and help from gods in harvest.

Feast of New Yam

Feast of New Yam is in the beginning of the New Year, where it was a time to give gratitude to the earth Goddess Ani

Ani is the God that judges moral conduct, the source of all fertility.

Preparations by hut-cleaning and decorating, cooking, body painting, and head shaving

Relatives come long distances in the feast and to drink-palm wine with family

Second day, wrestling match, where the whole village watch wrestling matches.

Marriage Custom

Marriage negotiations for Obierika’s daughter

Economic custom of dressing up the bride, drinking of palm-wine

Groom himself pays the bride-price

Isa-ifi

Ceremony of confession, bride sit in middle of big circle and asked questions about her virginity. To determine if she was faithful

during their courtship Bride in center with hen in right

hand After question answered by the

bride, hen is killed.

Sacrifice

Ritual to help encourage and help the realtionship with their gods (Chi, Ani).

Animals to fruits Ikemefuna, sacrifice used to

avoid war

Ancestral Power

Justice of Igbo village made by ancestral spirits

Also from gods, (Info passed on by Agbala)

Court, ceremony where people take their cases to the ancestors’ spirits (Egwugwu) in order to have their disputes settled without violence.

Egwugwu

Egwugwu, The Mother of All Spirits.

Unmasking an egwugwu, murdering a god

They serve as respect judges in community Masked Umuofia elders, but symbolically thought

as spirits of the clan

Summary of Customs/Rituals

There are many customs and rituals in the Igbo culture, of which the main ones are the beliefs of polygamy, polytheism, and patriarchy. Also, in times of trouble, they may go to the “court” and talk to the spiritual ancestors (Egwugwu) to solve their issues and problems. They also have marriage customs, of which the husband would pay the bride price, and also wedding ceremonies, where the bride is asked questions about her personal life (Isa-Ifi).

Some of the other rituals and customs are sacrifices made to the gods, the Week of Peace, Feast of the New Yam and the tribal customs, where the man with more titles and women would gain more leadership and power in the community.

Quote 1

“A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland. Your mother is there to protect you. She is buried there. And that is why we say that mother is supreme.” (Chp 14)

Quote Analysis 1

This shows the most important job of mothers after they have children. As a job of women, they are needed to take care of the children, and this quote tells exactly that. In the topic of gender inequality in the village, when man is successful, they live in the land of their fathers, but when they are weak and bitter, they move on to their motherland. This shows a

Quote 2

"Sit like a woman!" Okonkwo shouted at her. Ezinma brought her two legs together and stretched them in front of her. (Chp 5)

Quote Analysis 2

This quote tells the great power and difference between males and females in an household in an Igbo society. Males are found to be stronger and with the most power of the household. From this quote, it seems that men can say or do anything that they wish, even orders to other people, of which they are forced to follow. This quote also tells about the custom of how women should sit when eating at an important feast or in their daily lives.

Discussion Question 1

What do you believe is the KEY difference of customs or gender roles in Things Fall Apart and Western Countries?

Possible Answers

The main difference would be the different beliefs in the idea of having many gods and also the idea that men are able to have more than one wife. In Western countries, such as the United Statesthe culture opposes polyagmy, which people believe is not the right form of marriage. Having more than one “partner” most of the time leads to divorce between the original husband or wife.

ANOTHER POSSIBLE ANSWER

The differences between men and women are decreasing more and more as time passes in the Western countries. Many women are working outside even males are found to be the ones taking care of children and doing the house chores. In the past, females could have been the ones to be the person with the least amount of power in society and household, these day, females have attained more rights and powers such as voting, which helped them have more power in the community.

Discussion Question 2

In the custom of Isa-ifi, what would have happened if the bride had stated that she was not a virgin? Would she receive punishment?

Possible Answers

The family members would just talk to the bride about the importance of husbands and about making him the only partner of the bride’s life. The conversation would be just skipped and people would not remind each other of the day, because it may bring disappointment into people’s minds.

Another Possible Answer

The wedding may be cancelled and the bride may become ostracized from rest of the community for not being a virgin. She could be punished by beatings from the family or by the husband himself.

Discussion Question 3

If you were a man of great importance in the village of Umuofia, how would you react when the white men suddenly stating that the village would now have equality between men and women?

Possible Answers

I would try to fight back, by creating a force that would be enough to drive the white men, without telling the women out of the community. There may be a great possibility of a loss, but it would be worth a shot, in order to keep the customs and the very important gender roles. I would also try to force the females to persuade the white men from keeping the inequality the way that it is.

ANOTHER POSSIBLE ANSWER

Gender equality can not happen in this village and surely can’t be a factor in the control of white men in our community. Noticing that the white men have too much power in the society, I would run away, anywhere that didn’t have white men wanting to create equality between those weak women, who can’t fend for themselves.

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